I was the captain of this squad a few times in my life and it’s a miserable SkinnyBitch journey. I don’t want to eat like a caveman, I choose civilization. I don’t want to hear about your macros, I eat from intuition from a healthy mind-body connection. This may include a Bomb-ass-leafy-green-mack-daddied avacado-oed-nut-jobbed salad and other days it may be maple bacon chips. I like my lower ab pooch. In fact, I used to help my son learn to spell the word – absorb-. I kept saying “My abs have an Orb”. I have a 2 pack over a pooch and it’s unique. I like grains and dairy. If you like grains and dairy, eat them unless A DOCTOR WITH A MEDICAL DEGREE HAS DIAGNOSISED YOU WITH AN FREAKING FOOD ALLERGY.
P.S.A =. Anything in excess is bad for you, even kale.

Yes. America has a love affair with processed foods but if you truly want to assist people or need guidance in your health journey , avoid sanctimonious lectures of sensationalism sprinkled with shock and awe cupcake jimmies.

2) People who have zero respect for healthy boundaries.

The people who manipulate and bring guilt coupled with self-pity as a response to the answer : “No”.
Think Kathy Bates from Misery, she clearly missed Oprah’s class on healthy boundaries. Or Rosamund Pike from Gone Girl for a more contemporary example.

3) Uber-Ass-Social Media Posts.

I have ZERO DESIRE to see your butt cheeks and their bouffant-buoyancy in direct correlation with the three-hour squat session at the gym. America is obessed with “dat-azz” and apparently it needs to be plastered all over social media from your local gym. Too much ass is never a good thing. ☺

4) Unsolicited Parental Advice.

Imparted wisdom from the Moms who think “they know best”. If a child’s behavior , (or whatever the hell else parents debate via the comments section on facebook these days ) DOES NOT AFFECT YOUR CHILDREN, avoid the ‘def-com-WW3-super-mom-thesis’ on the subject .

Also – side note- DONT READ THE COMMENTS SECTION ON ANY VACCINATION -BLOGS or you will weep deeply for humanity.

5) People who think their Political Opinions are FACTS.
Next.

6) Unhealthy mind-set.

We have to feel our feelings and we have to express our emotions but we do not have to tolerate negative “self-talk.” You are betraying your growth when you push your emotions to the dark side. (yes… like Darth, he really needed positive self-talk-book-on-tapes for the Death Star; before he burned up planets and shit …)

We all have the choice to get help for our anger. There are loads of free services for you if you live in constant disparity , sadness and “flip-your-shit rage.” I work on this one daily.

7) Poor self-care.

Taking care of yourself is the BIGGEST gift you can give to yourself and your loved ones. Society confuses self-care with selfishness. Do not listen to the voices or the people who tell you to sacrifice self -care FOR ANYTHING.

8) People who do not see the humor in life.

Run. Sprint. Hide. Honestly, when I was flat-out “broken” by life, my sister said one thing that made me scratch my way back out of my hole. “The saddest thing for me, honey, is that you lost your sense of humor and the seriousness of life has destroyed your light”. Yes, life is serious, but if you are blocked from the spark, the laughter, the beauty – binge watch any of the following:
Big Bang Theory
Blackish
Modern Family
The Goldberg
Fresh of the Boat

or read my blogs. I’m hysterical.

9) Road Ragers.

(metaphorically as well) The world is dangerous (if you don’t have those boundaries! !:)) and there is nothing to gain by engaging with a madman. /or woman if I am to be politically correct. Think Rosamund Pike again because her persona exists and she probably drives a meticulously clean volvo.

10) Excess.

If you never feel mentally full, take time to relish in the memories or be present or find a happy scent or go hug a puppy. Of course, we all want to live a comfortable life with the blessings of modern day society (remember self-care!!) but check yourself before you purchase that 17th pair of shoe-boot sandals or the 25th pair of “ripped” vintage jeans because holey jeans and holey boots won’t fill emotional holes. ( and they are extremely impractical and polarzing in various climates. They have an identity crisis. )

Like this:

I am both relieved and saddened that I have more energy when I am not exercising as if I’m in the Cross Fit Reebox commercial. As much as I have that badassery within the tire-flippin’ part of my brain, I have to quiet the competitive need to burn as many calories as everyone I see on Facebook. Or Run as many miles.
Or plank as many minutes .
Or break my gammies antique stools. from trying to do Yoga Handstands.
or bake as many super food power protein Chia seeded coconut ed non GMO cheese it free pancakes.

Moderation comes as easy to me as social boundaries come to Kayne West. I never learned moderation and I only knew how to live within the extreme manifests of my soul. I was only living when I was burning all 60 wicks of the candle.

Now, I am most at peace with my soul , when I find fulfillment in the concept of “I am Enough”. This concept is NOT to be confused with stagnation and complacency, it only means that I can feel more peace by striving for less competition between me and who?,

The younger version of myself?
The Career mom?
The Organic mom?
The perfect chocolate chip cookie mom?
The Intellectual mom?
The Mom who isn’t scared of 50 shades of Grey?

No, I am NOT labeling other moms, I am labeling what I PERCEIVE myself to be in my doe-eyed quest for that healthy recipe with the perfect flu fighting antioxidants….

We all have bad habits. My worst habit (right now) is thinking that if I “miss” something on my phone , the world might implode, as though, I’m an omnipotent-phone-puppet master. There are some amazing benefits of smart phones, that have helped me tremendously in my life I simply need to make a few tweaks for balance:

I absorb EVERYTHING as though it is directed at me personally that I need to change in my life. 15 pack abs? Gifted writing skillzzz? Poetry slam master? Home Business Mogul? Super Mom Pintrest Planner? Kick box Dancing Runner? Yoga-Pilates-Yoda-Mind-Bender? Motivational Speaker who can Rap the Psalms? Traveling Comedian Nurse to terminally ill patients? Doctors without Borders WHO CREATE Peaceful borders through their Martha-Stewar- Dali- Lammad approach to packing perfect Bento lunches?

SERIOUSLY !$@!! I SEE THIS s$/# ON THE INTERNET or the Inter Webs or The Freaking Matrix itself and think “I NEED TO SIGN UP FOR THIS SEMINAR NOW SO I CAN DO THAT THING SO I CAN SAVE THE WORLD FROM THE EBOLANIAN POLAR VORTEX with the ADAM LEVINE PROACTIVE VACCINE”

Ask my husband how many “seminars” I have asked to purchase or how many “careers” I have pursued in our blissful 11 years of marriage. He may have to pull out a counting machine thingy .

Honestly, they are probably all true except I already used my Kohls cash as I had 56 reminders on my phone and 670 sticky notes on my fridge. Additionally, I do have many ‘jobs’ and I am never, ever, ever bored. You will never hear me utter those words “I Am bored”. Have you read my blogs?

For the most part B) (ADD) trumps most of my “bad” habits. However B) also trumps my good habits and stimulates my creativity AND I’M convinced I’m the #1 rated sitcom in Heaven based on how I go about my daily tasks. I KNOW! , for certain God is not going to discontinue programming on my ADD, because He is roaring with raucous laughter and it makes me, ME I’m freaking hysterical, just simply waking up in the morning.:)

I’m so incredibly tired of feeling like I need to be “fixed”. I’m tired of feeling guilty for having severe ADD (I have been tested, it’s off the charts ). I REFUSE to use any of my defects, ailments or ADD as a crutch or an excuse for accomplishing my own individual goals. One of which is to write a damn book. I say damn because I have stopped and started for some many innocuous reasons,and it causes me to say “damn” a lot

I do not want to be cured, scanned or medicated. (I do take Zoloft because I have tried life with out it and let’s say, I would be in my bed in a ball of tears or running a marathon every week, without it’s presence in my body, and I am a FIRM believer of pharmaceutical medicine and it’s benefits when it’s used to help people feel emotionally, physically and mentally healthy NOT to mask and drown symptoms like a cheap bandaid)

I digress. My point is, I’m done looking for the “fix” in my phone or thinking that I could “break” someone or something right away if I don’t respond to their text/VM/FB post inbox etc etc etc IMMEDIATLELY ! I AM Enough without my phone and I am not going to change the world through my phone. I can however, bring love, light, inspiration and laughter to people with the aid of my phone if I find the proper balance.

Everyone in the diet/health industry is on this 21-25 day restart/reset/redo program. I think the concept is fabulous because social science dictates that it takes 23 days to make or break a habit (I literally pulled that last sentence out of my a$$, because I am not going to get distracted with Google right now :)). I learned it somewhere, probably from Google, so therefore, it’s true.

My solution is as follows:

For 23 days, here is my, SIMPLE, 3 step plan:
A) Check Phone in am – 1x for alarm, weather AND NOT CHECK AGAIN UNTIL 10 ( UNLESS C) OCCURS)
B) Pick 2 x a day to respond to texts /gmails/calls/FB etc. yikes. maybe 3, 10AM , 2PM, 9PM
C) Put ringer on daily , so I don’t have to “check” to see if school called about the children and get sucked in to see what celebrity lost how many pounds while taking what crazy fruit/seed/hcgglutenfree extract while holding their breath with sugar on their nose for 21 days.

I somewhat recognize the Irony of this post; however like I said, I’m trying to focus on the postive of the smart phone /social media influence; rather than ‘bashing it’ or quitting it all together.

Like this:

This is the best passage I have ever read, summarizing the destructive forces perpetuated by diet (and sometimes even health/wellness) industry. We, who suffer with food (and other) addictions are the collateral damage of constantly being bombarded with advertisements that convince us we “are not enough” so we must eat less, exercise more, produce more, to be more in society.

However being “more” in size, means you are less of a human being in the eyes of society. If you truly want to be at peace with yourself from the inside through the outside , read this book and start healing the demons of the part of your soul that tells you ” I am not enough”.

The cyclical nature of extreme “cleansing”, restricting, dieting, then bingeing fails your mental and physical body because you forget how to recognize true hunger. If you have ever struggled with food, exercise , body image or weight..this is passage is from Geneen Roth’s “When you eat at the refrigerator pull up a chair!”

I am an exercise-bulimic survivor or anorexic survivor. I was labeled as both by the physicians and nutritionist that treated me during this dark time. These old demons come back sometimes subtly, sometimes fiercely. I also have other “isms” but today, for a short moment, I will focus on this “minion-to-demon” creature that lies on a hammock in my brain.

The ONE truest thing I have learned about nutrition/food is do not believe the hype. If it’s too “good” or too “bad” to be true, it probably is or is not the truth. The minute I “restrict” some “food” based on the newest “craze”, (I.e breads grains yes EVEN SUGAR!) is the the minute I go stark raving mad and end up eating more than I needed and eating from emotional pain. I would much rather have a peaceful mind than a perfect body.

I know, “What’s up with the dang air quotes Scrappie?” I have to generalize because the amount of examples I could provide would make my ADHD spin and I would spent the next four hours Googling “the dangers x,y & z food” . I simply cannot spiral into a world where I am paralyzed by food choices. Been There, Done That, it’s really a shitty place to rent.

I apologize to all the waitstaff I interrogated about my food preparation or for scaring my Dad for running at 2am, in the streets of Boston. By myself. an 80 lb crazed lunatic of defenseless, foodless adrenaline. I thank the Guardian angel that silently ran beside me, helping my twisted ankles heal so I could safely return home, each twilight. I am sure I have more amends to make during my boney reign of terror, but the wide eyed looks of bewilderment on waitstaffs’ and my Dad’s faces alike, are painfully clear to me right now.

I am irritated with the health and fitness industry for catering how exercise and restrictive eating makes us “look” versus how it makes us “feel” and HOW it can help our OVERALL MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH. Of course, I want to feel good about how I look, but when I see a scantily clad fitness model, butt cheeks hanging out, and flexing with a Carrot Stick in between her teeth captioned “Abs are made in The Kitchen” , it actually makes me nauseous and sad.

I have to rephrase the beginning of the last paragraph. I do not believe you have to practice restrictive eating habits and ‘reedunkulous’ exercise routines to impact your OVERALL MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH. What I am trying to say is, I’m frustrated with this message that is being sent by some leaders in the health and fitness industry. When I do see this type of message, I try to block it from my social media path and try to block it from my brain.

I LOVE intense cardiovascular exercise. Love it. I love to bike, jog, kick box , dance, bur-pees; all of it, and I could become obsessed with any of it , if I do not keep myself in check. I do not love yoga or strength training but I balance a little bit of everything because I know it’s good for my overall health and yes, I must admit stretching and yoga “stuff” feels good if I am perfectly honest with myself.

“What spurred this blog and where am I going with my story? Food shaming on social media. Yes, you are darn right I’m oversensitive about being over-informed with which foods are going to turn me into a cocaine addict or how my kids are going to get cancer if I make one wrong decision at the grocery store. (yes I am exaggerating).

I am tired seeing pictures of a Coke can labeled “Obesity” as a parody to their new marketing campaign, in name of “health promotion”. I do not want to know about the McDonald’s hamburgers that survived your latest scientific health experiment.

Clean Eating. Who came up with this term? So anyone that eats out of a “box” or eats “white” flour or whatever is not grown by your restrictive healthy guidelines is eating “dirty?” or “cheating”?? This truly does not seem like a healthy message to send go anyone ESPECIALLY , young adults, who are very active on social media.

One out of five/seven kids go hungry in the US every day*. The dichotomy between the health/fitness/diet industry and the poverty levels of Americans who do not have enough to eat, makes my head mushy and steam comes out of my ears. Therefore, to stay in the solution and away from the ‘soapboxbitchfest’, I am going to leave to links that raise awareness on this issue.** (below)

There are more inspirational ways to reach people who need help in learning how to eat healthy and exercise regularly. Food Shaming and making people feel like shit because they are overweight is not inspirational or motivational. Maybe I am the only one who feels like this , but I can guarantee you if there are any other eating disordered (over-eaters, over- exercisers under-eaters etc) people who see this in their news-feed, I’m guessing they are getting pretty annoyed or even retreating into their disease with the “health-scolding” via social media.

This is my “angriest” blog written to date. I HATE to offend or make people angry or especially hurt people’s feelings. Lately I have realized, I will never grow as a writer if I am constantly worried about people being angry because they did not like my views. I am not an angry person, but I am passionate and sometimes its difficult to translate that message perfectly. I attribute this blog to those writers who have inspired me to be more honest, through their passionate blogs; specifically Baby Sideburns, The Bloggess, Rosie Smartie Pants, We don’t Chew Glass, Drifting through My Open Mind and a girl named Sasha who is always commenting on my blog, and I am embarrassed because I can’t find her blog right now, so if you read this , please please link your blog in the comments!!!

Me: “Honey I’m having a ton of anxiety”
Him: sigh
Me: “look at this article on Facebook that shows a brain scan of a cocaine addict versus one of someone who ate sugar from this ‘Fed Up’ Page.”
Him: “It’s called marketing and SENSATIONALISM”
Me: “But Katie Couric is a director on this documentary”
Him: “Katie Couric is a journalist. Please stop clicking on stuff like this because it makes you insane. Here look at this cute puppy!”
Me: “I want a puppy! but what if he eats too much sugar and becomes addicted to cocaine.”
Him: Sigh.
Me: “Isn’t this all true if Katie Couric is on the board of directors? It’s gotta be true if Katie Couric directed it..I wonder what Beyonce thinks about all this. Is sugar as bad as cocaine? But I love ice cream!!”
Him: “Stop. Clicking. On. Articles. about Food. Cute. Puppy. Links. Only.
Me”: “But Katie Couric and puppies and I am just trying to talk about my feelings. I have so many feelings!”
Him: Sigh
Me: ” Should I just delete Facebook again because I get sucked into anti-happy-puppy articles?”
Him: No
Me: “But what about Katie Couric, isn’t she always right? and I bet you she doesn’t eat sugar. I bet you her and Kelly Ripa run 150 miles after Pilates every morning and then eat plain Greek yogurt with almonds”
Him: ” It’s Social Media. It’s Media. Everyone has a cause they want you to join. Except for the puppies. Focus on the puppies!”
Me: “oh man, we really should save the puppies shouldn’t we, there are so many unwanted puppies in the world!”
Him: “No we can not get a puppy right now.”
Me: “Ok. Can I sign up for some Pilates classes with Puppies?”

And that my friends, is how and why I simply cannot get sucked into “anti-happy-puppy” articles on social media because we would end up with a lot of puppies and unused Pilates Groupon thingies.

I’m too tired to write a blog so I “screenshotted” my instagram sentiments.
I felt it blog-worthy.
questions below are rhetorical and somewhat facetious. I know chickens don’t eat grass. I know as much as I want to know about the war on GMO and I am NOT looking for a debate or an argument with the Food Babe groupies. I’m looking for balance, serenity, peace and not feel like my families insides are rotting from cancer because I eat yogurt and cheese and my kids eat sugar.